WFFC Announces 5 Honorees

Posted: August 22, 2007

Celebrating 25 years of providing women (and men) a networking, support and educational venue, Women in Flavor and Fragrance Commerce (WFFC) has announced a slate of five honorees representing the breadth of its community. With careers spanning anywhere from 35 years to just seven, these women represent the organization’s beginnings and its future. The WFFC’s 25th anniversary nominees are:

Marion Brooks (Citrus and Allied Essences) is a founding member of the WFFC and a veteran account executive. Of her colleagues in the WFFC she says, “We’ve been very supportive of each other in good times and in bad … You’re working with a very high quality group of people that appreciate hard work.”

Bonnie Cabelis (Wessel Fragrances), a purchasing vice president, has been in the industry for 25 years. What she enjoys most about working in the F&F industry is the relationships: “Some of my really good friends are my sales people. We have fun, we enjoy each other. It’s a great industry in that sense.”

Katrina Neale (Global Essence) has been in the industry since 1978, though her career has taken a number of detours. She says she kept coming back because “the essential oil business somehow gets under your skin.”

Dianne Sansone (Flavor & Fragrance Specialties) has been in the industry for 17 years, growing a part time position into one that includes management of a flavor laboratory. She says: “There are very many dedicated, talented people [in this industry], so it’s really a thrill to be nominated.”

Flavorist Dana Sanza grew up going to work with her father, who at the time was in production at McCormick. To this day she remembers how the family car smelled of vanilla extract. Joining the industry just seven years ago, she says that she loves every aspect of flavor creation: “You never get bored.”

The WFFC’s 25th Anniversary open dinner will take place October 3 at the Westmount Country Club in West Paterson, NJ. For more details, visit www.wffc.org.